itsme110

^^^^

flyr16

Interesting article in The Economist on current tourism to Mexico:

http://www.economist.com/node/175818...81852&fsrc=rss

itsme110

Another interesting article. While the focus seems to be on Mexico, it seems that drug related violence knows no borders including many gang slayings in places like Vancouver, Phoenix, as well as the link below.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/p...kitts/131080/1

gomexico

Much of the major criminal activity in the USA is tied directly to the war and terrorism in Mexico, and some of what Canada's experiencing might be similarly oriented. Much of the war reporting from Mexico is not making it into the press - because reporters and media outlets have stopped doing that out of fear for their lives. Even before that, there was no credible accumulation of crime statistics in Mexico. I think it's fair to assume that the casualties and incidents are at least double the amount being reported. The international media doesn't spend much time reporting on the war and terrorism. What they should probably do is send teams of reporters and producers into Mexico just like they do in Iraq and Afghanistan - because aspects of the current war and terrorism in Mexico are similar to what's happening in other war-torn regions. But when I travel to Mexico I'm not too interested in the crimes back in the USA or Canada, it's what's happening in Mexico that'll affect me more ... then.

Ancien Maestro

The violence in Mexico is keeping me away.. I don't need to arrive back home in a coffin, or any of my family members for that matter.. just because we want to go on vacation to a hot climate.. Hawaii is our choice this year.

El Cochinito

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse in Ciudad Juárez...

What's next?

WillTravel

I don't know if it makes it better or worse to know this, but the schoolteachers have been a target for at least the past 2 years that I recall reading about it. They are supposed to give up their Christmas bonuses, for one thing.

bzbdewd

We live 4 miles from the border and spend a great deal of time in Mexico. If what you are reading in the news scares you then stay home. But if you are going to use that logic don't go to LA, Philadelphia, or most major cities in the US. They are far more dangerous to the average person than most places in Mexico or the border. Rule of thumb - if it looks like a place you would avoid in the US avoid it in Mexico or any other country (duh!).
We had a few days off after a gig in Seattle last month. We flew down to Mazatlan and came back home (Arizona) by bus (Tufesa Executivo). We felt safe the entire time. We were concerned because we weren't familiar with taking the bus. The steward assured us he would get us on the correct bus and when the time came he came and got us - loaded our bags and directed us to our seats. Only after we gave him the thumbs up and we were settled in did he leave our side. Find that in the US? I don't think so.
Mexico is what you make of it. Go looking for trouble and you'll find it. See the people for the amazingly kind folks that they are and you'll have the time of your life.
We're headed back down next week - again by bus. Nogales to Mazatlan, Mazatlan to Sayulita.

gomexico

The "duh" might be coming from people who think the above statement is a bit off the wall - head in the sand type of reaction to the war and the terrorist activities in that area. What's happening in certain zones along the Border and at points in the interior of the country doesn't happen anywhere in the USA, Canada, etc. Maybe Afghanistan and Iraq are more appropriate comparisons for those conflict zones.

El Cochinito

Here's my logic: I will not visit Northern Mexico until this narco-war is under control. Perhaps your local towns of Naco and Agua Prieta, the two towns closest to Bisbee, are safer than most. But why risk it? IMHO Northern Mexico is now owned by the cartels. The Mexican state and federal governments have virtually ceded it to the bad guys. Becoming a police officer in Northern Mexico is a death sentence. Teenage boys are being hired as assassins and think nothing of decapitating victims. Innocent kids get gunned down at birthday parties. Teachers and school kids are marked for death if schools don't pay mordidas. Hundreds of women and girls have disappeared around Juarez without a trace. Innocent tourists have been caught in cross-fires.

Screw that. This is why airplanes exist. I'll gladly fly over the war zone and visit our family and friends further south in La Republica. No way would I drive or take the bus in Northern Mexico right now. And many of my Mexican family and friends feel the same way.

And asserting that major US cities are "far more dangerous" to the average person than most places in Mexico or the border is turning a blind eye to the sad reality of Northern Mexico. Juarez is now the most dangerous city in the world. And the last time I checked, the US government wasn't organizing auto convoys with military/police escorts so visitors could safely drive through certain cities and states when returning home for the holidays.

bzbdewd

Juarez has been a danger zone since I moved to the border in the early 80's. We used to go all the time but not after dark and only in certain areas (much like Philadelphia). I don't have my head in the sand and my southern view from my living room is Mexico. Yes the cartels are in control of parts of Mexico but if you believed the news I live in a war zone. It's bull. Just like my idiot Governor's assertions that they've found headless bodies in the desert - total inflammation of the truth.

gomexico

In late-October of this year the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico delivered an excellent speech titled "Mexico at the Crossroads." I think it's a "must read" for people who have a continuing interest in Mexico. Here's the link (to the speech):

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/d...d%20Speech.pdf

El Cochinito

I hope you don't live in a war zone in Bisbee otherwise we're in a world of hurt on our side of the border. And I don't think anybody is lighting a match to truth; plenty of headless bodies and severed heads have been found throughout Mexico.

From the Ambassador's speech referenced by the previous poster, I was floored by this statistic as I didn't think things were this ridiculously bad:
No wonder Mexicans can't trust the police or their legal system. I hope in 2011 things start turning around for the better for our neighbors.

redondo-beach

there are so many places in Los angeles that I would not want to go to, plus people getting killed every week,

yes Mexico has problems, big problems , and it is not really the place for scared tourists, but for most, you will never see a problem in LA or Mexico !

RB

LeSabre74

Amid drug violence, Acapulco watches tourism recede

...Now, just as it hopes to regain some of its cachet, Acapulco is confronting more than the weight of history. The famed resort city has been the scene of vicious fighting among rival drug gangs that has killed more than 650 people in four years, the fifth-highest count for any Mexican city, according to government figures. The toll includes 30 men slain last weekend in and around the city. Fifteen of them were decapitated... (bold mine)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...rce=feedburner

Thanks, but I'll give it a pass. There's plenty of other destinations to go to.